


Point Blank

by snoipahs



Category: Fire Emblem: If | Fire Emblem: Fates
Genre: Angst, Hurt/Comfort
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-05-02
Updated: 2016-05-02
Packaged: 2018-06-05 20:21:47
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,664
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6721957
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/snoipahs/pseuds/snoipahs
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Takumi promised to take Kiragi out hunting the first morning he had free. He keeps his promise as a father, even after waking from a particularly horrendous nightmare.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Point Blank

_You see the serious look in his eyes. You feel his hand on his shoulder as he passes you. Ryoma has resigned himself to his fate, and accepts his burden of carrying out a samurai's final duty._  
  
_The word flashes in your mind, such a hideous sound you haven't thought of since your first learned its terrible meaning. But you aren't the eldest. You do not wield Rajinto. You are spared the expectation of an honorable death._  
  
_Lightning cracks around the sacred blade as he raises it high into the air. You beg yourself to look away, but you cannot. Your brother arcs it through the air, towards himself, and you feel the pain in your own stomach, just as it pierces his..._  
  
"--Takumi!"  
  
He sat bolt upright as soon as he heard his name. His mind raced, his heart pounded, and droplets of sweat that felt cold as ice ran down his forehead. His wild eyes searched the dark room and the pace of his husky breathing quickened; as far as he knew he was still in the nightmare.  
  
"Takumi, it’s alright...!” his wife was upright at his side, reassuring him. “It was just a dream. You're alright, my love, everything's alright..."  
  
"...Ryoma..." Takumi’s voice was hoarse and weak, yet he pried for the name like it was a drink of cold water he so sorely needed.  
  
"Ryoma is safe," Mozu offered, placing her hand on his shoulder. "And so are you. You are here, with me."  
  
"...Oh, Mozu..." he groaned and clutched his arms over his own stomach, which churned with pain and unease. "It was the worst one... by _far_..."  
  
Takumi attempted to take deep breaths to calm himself, but they only came out as more hollow sobs and raspy gasps. He withdrew one of his hands and hid his face behind it, and all Mozu could do to comfort him was stroke his bare back and watch helplessly as her husband tried to pull himself together.  
  
Suddenly, the both of them were alerted to creaking floorboards and the sharp patter of bare feet against tatami mats elsewhere in their home. They both darted their eyes towards their bedroom screen, which was slightly ajar, and held their breath. After a few more moments of disparate shuffling, their son poked his head through the partition and cautiously looked at his parents.  
  
"Dad?" Kiragi asked as softly as he could manage. "Are you awake?"  
  
"Kiragi--" Mozu said warningly, but she could do precious little to stop him from bounding excitedly into their room and throwing himself atop their bed.  
  
"Yay!" he cried happily when he realized his father's eyes were indeed open and following his every move. "Let's go, dad! I'm ready!"  
  
Takumi was mostly frozen as he watched his son bounce excitedly on the patch of bed near his feet. Somewhere, deep inside, he knew the sight should have brought him joy, and yet he could not find the feeling beneath all his anxiety and dread.  
  
"Kiragi... wouldn't you rather stay inside, and work on your studies with me, today?" Mozu offered gently. "Your father's still very tired--"  
  
"Awwh, but _dad_ ," he whined. "You promised you'd take me out hunting today! I waited... I've been waiting all week..."  
  
Kiragi's knit brow and pouting lips actually brought a small smile to Takumi's face. He managed to summon his voice and sit up, but still he did not withdraw his arm from his abdomen.  
  
"It's fine, Mozu..." he muttered, offering his wife a reassuring glance. “I promised."  
  
"...Are you sure?" she asked, watching his face with concern.  
  
"Yes.” Takumi shifted away from her, but held her hand when it fell off his shoulder, and squeezed it. “I could think of no better way to clear my head."  
  
"...Dad?" Kiragi was unsure of what to make of the gesture, and watched warily as his dad turned his legs over the side of the bed and began to stand up.  
  
"So you have gotten _yourself_ completely ready,” he began to scold his son as he pulled his loose hair into a ribbon. “And yet you haven't spared a thought for your father?"  
  
"--I'll-- I'll get your clothes!” he cried frantically, jumping off the bed and darting for the bedroom’s screen. “And I made some breakfast-- it’s on the table, and I’ll bring you your yumi-- wait right there!"

Both Mozu and Takumi shared a light laugh at their son’s eagerness, and when they were sure he had gone from their cabin entirely, their serious conversation resumed.

“Are you sure you’ll be okay?” she asked one final time. “I could get Ryoma if you need him—“

“No, no, don’t bother him at this hour,” he sighed, letting his shoulders slack. “He has concerns far more pressing than my bad dreams.”

Mozu quietly stared at the empty sheets where he had just been laying. Before she noticed her husband moving back towards her, he felt his palm slip over the back of her hand. Slightly surprised, she met his face, and he promptly placed a light kiss on her lips.

“I have you,” he whispered, lingering close even after their mouths had parted. “And we have Kiragi. That’s all I need.”

After savoring the moment, Mozu broke into a wide grin, and threw her arms around his neck for a hug.

“Have fun,” she ordered in a tone of mock-seriousness as he stood up and set off. “Bag us something tasty, you hear?”

“We will,” Takumi assured her. Before he left the bedroom, he retrieved his undershirt, then slipped behind the bedroom’s screen, pulling it closed behind him.

When he stepped into the foyer of their small cabin, he realized his son hadn't lied about breakfast. Waiting for him on the table was his favorite meal; a small bowl of miso soup and two freshly-steamed milk bread rolls. Next to that, a set of clothes perfectly suited for a light hike were folded neatly. Takumi glanced at his own reflection in the pale yellow liquid before raising the bowl to his lips and slurping it down in a couple gulps. He pocketed one of the rolls and popped the other into his mouth before pulling on the rest of his gear and heading for the door.  
  
Kiragi met him there, coming from the armory shed and quickening his pace as he saw his father standing in the doorway. He held the Fujin Yumi, and clearly struggled to bare the weight of the sacred weapon in his small hands. But rather than help him, Takumi simply waited, giving him the chance to prove his strength.  
  
"Thank you, son," he said with a small smile when his weapon was safely delivered to his hands. Kiragi was beaming as he sheathed his own iron yumi on his shoulder and led the way by bounding excitedly into the grass field at the edge of camp.

“I know a good spot we can go, if you follow me,” he said, watching to see how his father would react to his plan.

 “Sounds good,” Takumi said halfheartedly, turning to look back upon the rest of camp. “I’m right behind you.”

The pre-dawn mist had only gradually begun to lift, and many of the tents were still barely visible in the limited light. Still, he scanned the expanse until he found his brother’s; the flagship cabin in the center with a long, proud banner drifting peacefully from a bamboo pole outside its door. Takumi breathed a deep sigh as he laid eyes upon the placid scene, noticing even the moist smell of the dew on the grass beneath them.

“…Dad?” Kiragi asked when his father had stopped walking entirely.

“…Coming,” Takumi snapped out of his little trance and set out after his son.  
  
For the duration of their trek, Kiragi did most of the talking, while his father listened politely to his stories. He told him how, earlier that week, Dwyer had cornered him in the butchering tent and forced him to clean up his own mess before he would allowed him to dinner. Then, Dwyer had gone on to insist that, as a prince, he should have a retainer who supervised him strictly and ensured he behaved. He had meant it as a lament, but Takumi secretly smiled, pleased to hear his son was receiving some structure in his life, even if it was from a child of Nohrian blood. Kiragi also excitedly mentioned how he had gone exploring with Midori, but suddenly his face grew red when he tried to think on the details. Instead, he focused on naming the herbs they had gathered together, slipping up only when he drifted off and remarked how happy he was to see her smile. Takumi watched with keen interest, noting how similar his own behavior was when he had first started to fall for his mother.  
  
Before Takumi could get a word in edgewise, Kiragi started a new story about his most recent hunting outings with his big cousin Shiro.  
  
"He lets me ride on his shoulders, and he crosses the rivers, boulders, trees-- everything!" he gushed, a skip working its way into his step as he spoke. "And he's so strong-- he doesn't get tired of carrying me, even if we're out all day!"

“Sounds like he really does a lot for you,” Takumi observed. “I hope you show him you appreciate it.”

Kiragi just hummed in agreement, missing his father’s meaning entirely. Instead, a bird perched at the very top of a pine tree on the edge of the forest they were approaching had caught his attention.  
  
"See that bird, up there?” he pointed. “Shiro's so tall, I bet if I were on his shoulders, I could get it. ...Pew!"

He mimed pulling back an imaginary bowstring and launching an arrow, and the echo of his added sound effect cause the bird to abandon its perch and circle overhead just once before flying off.  
  
Kiragi snickered to himself before sighing contentedly. "I always bag so many when I go out with him."

Takumi said nothing to that, which caused his son some concern. He looked back at his father, and was partially relieved to see him wearing a smirk.  
  
"...But I like going out with you the most, dad," he added, and his sudden honesty caused Takumi’s face to perk up.  
  
"So do I, Kiragi," he replied without hesitation. They shared a smile before Kiragi turned back to his tracking duties.

After another few minutes of walking, they were into dense forest and Takumi could hear the distant sound of running water growing louder and louder with every step. Before long, they were upon a river, and Kiragi scrambled up on a boulder to scout the site.

“This is it,” he said very quietly, careful not to startle any animals that might have been in the area. “Me and Shiro have bagged a lot of deer here before. I wonder why there aren’t any, now…”

Takumi looked down upon the riverbank and scoured it for tracks. He withdrew his bow, fully prepared to wait prone for a while, until he noticed fat claw marks that had trampled across the disparate sprinklings of deer hoofprints.

Sure enough, Takumi didn’t even have time to point out the bear tracks before the creature who had left them returned to the area.

Kiragi let out a little gasp before falling completely silent, then slowly crouched behind the boulder he had been standing on as the beast hulked towards the river and bent its snout to the water. He threw a glance to his father, who was watched it drink with steely focus.

“…It hasn’t noticed us.” Takumi’s whisper was deathly quiet as he straightened his bow in his right hand.

“Are you gonna get it, dad?” his son asked.

“I think you should,” he offered.

Kiragi’s eyes went wide. “Me? But my yumi… It’s only iron.”

“Not with that,” Takumi explained. “With this.”

His eyes went even wider as he watched his dad gently hold out Fujin Yumi upright and gestured for him to take it.

“But… Dad…” Kiragi wouldn’t even reach for it. “I don’t… I don’t know if I can.”

“What do you mean?” Takumi spoke casually. “You’ve gotten bears before, haven’t you?”

“Yeah, but… not all by myself!” his tone was low but slightly panicked.

“You’re not by yourself,” he reassured him, turning and offering his son a genuine expression. “I’m right here.”

With the assurance, Kiragi summoned some confidence, and reached his fist around the hilt of his father’s divine weapon. Takumi gradually let go, and at first his arm buckled with the weight, but he promptly found the strength to hold it up when he has expected to.

“You got it?” Takumi asked considerately.

“Y-Yeah,” he replied, turning into an arching pose on instinct alone. He made the pinching motion with his free hand that he had seen his dad make a thousand times before, and sure enough, a bowstring and arrow materialized out of thin air.

Kiragi flinched at the sudden blue light, but when he grew used to the look and feel of the weapon in his hands, a confident look came over his features and he stood up a little straighter.

The bear was still mulling aimlessly around the bank, so Takumi took the time to correct his son’s posture with a few errant nudges. Moments later, his stance was perfect, so he stepped away entirely.  
  
"Concentrate,” he breathed into his son’s ear. “It’s just like wielding any other yumi. Breathe out as you loose it.”

Kiragi traced his aim on the beast as it sat up on its haunches and sniffed the air. He tensed, knowing that meant it was on to them, gradually sensing their presence, but his father reassured him.

“Steady, now. Whenever you're ready."

The next moment passed in an ethereal flash. Fujin Yumi’s blue bowstring snapped to its joint, then disappeared, and Kiragi watched intently to see whether or not he would hit his mark. In a fraction between blinks, Takumi saw he would; the arrow pierced right into the bear’s stomach.

He reeled, and gasped deeply before burying his face into his hand. Again, the sharp pain overcame his stomach, and the proud beast’s anguished roar as it fell dejectedly to the ground rattled around in his head along after the air had given up carrying it.

“—Dad!” Kiragi shouted as he watched his father fall to his knees. Takumi could again feel a hand on this shoulder, but this one was much smaller, much more prying.

It wasn’t Ryoma’s. He was not living his nightmare, he was simply traumatized by the memory of it. When he took his hand down from his eyes, they found the now unrecognizable husk of brown fur lying motionless in a pool of crimson red.

He remembered to breathe, and hyperventilated for a few moments while his son watched in stunned silence.

“Dad, are you okay?” he asked hurriedly, trying his best to snap him out of it. “What happened? Are you hurt?”

“I’m… I’m fine,” Takumi muttered, slowly regaining his grip on reality. He sighed, and shakily worked himself to his own two feet.

Kiragi stepped back, but still hovered close, holding the Fujin Yumi for him even though it was starting to greatly strain his arm muscles.

“…Good shot,” he observed, keeping a vacant stare on the target he had just bagged.

“Y-yeah,” Kiragi agreed, but he couldn’t keep his voice from cracking with concern. His father didn’t seem to realize he hadn’t yet explained what had happened, and he didn’t look as though he was about to.

Wordlessly, he extended his open hand towards his son, and he obediently returned the sacred weapon to its rightful wielder. He took it back without thanks and began to set for the bank.

“Aim for the heart, next time,” Takumi said to his son before walking off with his back towards him. “It’s more humane that way.”


End file.
